Croatia awards five geothermal exploration licenses

The Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has awarded five licenses for the exploration of geothermal waters to firms from Croatia, the United Kingdom, and Turkey.

The geothermal potential of exploration areas were identified earlier in wells created for oil and gas exploration and production, which now reduces the risk and costs for the investors, according to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

Of note, the Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency was in charge of the tender.

The temperature at all locations enables the production of electricity, while the total potential of all areas is around 600,000 MWh.

Croatia’s national oil and gas company INA has received licenses for the areas Leščan and Međimurje 5. IGeoPen, owned by A14 Energy Limited, has been awarded a license for the areas Pčelić and Sječe, while Viola Energy Generation, established by Turkey’s Soyak, has obtained a license for the Kotoriba area.

The tender attracted a total of 16 bids

Of note, Soyak and A14 Energy Limited are also developing other projects in Croatia. A14 Energy Limited was recently acquired by the UK-based Star Energy Group.

There were 16 bids from 11 companies based in Croatia, France, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, and the UK, while no bid had been submitted for the Ferdinandovac exploration area.

Minister Filipović: Unlocking the geothermal potential will bring multiple benefits for Croatia’s economy

The firms will drill 21 geothermal wells, and the value of the planned investments is EUR 191.7 million. The total value of investments if the drilling results are good could reach EUR 400 million, the ministry said.

“Using the geothermal potential is a significant step towards increasing energy production in Croatia. It will improve the security of our country by increasing domestic energy production from renewables, but also deliver benefits for the economy,” said Minister Davor Filipović.

According to the analyses, Croatia has enough geothermal potential for the construction of geothermal power plants with a total capacity of around 1 GW.